Menu Bar

February 3, 2014

Dress to Decorate

After writing my last kindness post, I went much needed clothes shopping over the weekend. I am not a big fan of any type of shopping except antiquing, and I only had less than two hours to spare. So, my goal was to make the shopping trip as quick as possible, and find a few pairs of pants that fit me and my style without spending too much.

These are the three pairs I came home with. A pair of jeans from a thrift store for $7, a pair of red skinny pants and a peacock corduroy skinny for $9 each from Old Navy (from the clearance rack). I haven't had a pair of red pants since I was a little girl, so I'm pretty excited about them. But my very favorite pair is the thrift store jeans. It's comfortable and perfectly worn.

Now, I think it's time to play a little dress up.

$7 Thrift Store Jeans in 3 Ways {Monday morning impromptu photo shoot} The jeans and a striped t-shirt. I love stripes and I like it simple. I rolled up the jeans to get the look I was after.

The jeans and a white long sleeve shirt. My 2-year-old was helping us take some pictures this morning. He was probably saying, "lemmi check the pictures I took, Mommy." And I'm not a model, so I obviously have no idea how to pose.

I got photobombed, and this is obviously the only way I know how to pose.

The same jeans and the white shirt, paired with a Elie Tahari black jacket for a little more dressed up look. I like the combination of casual and refined.

It is interesting because this is
exactly how I like to dress my house, too. I enjoy combining
casual/rustic elements with something more refined when I decorate. I guess I dress like
I decorate my own house.

I was rushing this morning when I took these pictures, and I didn't have time to think of adding any accessories to the outfit. I would probably add this blue sparkly necklace I purchased from this etsy store to complete the look.

This is what I learned from writing this post: I think about decorating homes all the time, even when I try to dress myself. I think I'm now ready to go back to my element and rearrange furniture.

Before I go, I have two more things I wanted to share today:

I painted my toenails with Covergirl nail polish in Amethyst, and I love it! It has this rich dark purple that almost looks like dark chocolate. I highly recommend this.

This is my favorite perfume of all times: Bvlgari pour Femme, Eau de Parfum by Bvlgari. I discovered this when I was in sophomore year in college. After trying so many different perfumes, this still remains my favorite. This has a rich floral base with a slight tea note that I love. I stopped wearing this when I had my babies five years ago, but I recently started using this again. Wearing my favorite perfume daily makes me feel like a lady.

14 comments:

Yes and yes to the questions. Well, I don't wear my perfume daily - maybe just two or three times a week. It is Flower by Kenzo (a powdery floral) and one of few that I've sampled that don't give me a headache - I use only one spritz. It is an instant mood lifter, isn't it?

I do dress how I decorate: Mostly neutrals with a touch of subtle color somewhere, typically in an accessory. I like simple lines - no ruffles, prints, sparkly things, or too much of any other embellishment or hardware (especially logos). I would love to have a chandelier in the home though. That kind of sparkly is fun ;)

You look great in your new outfits, and I especially love your black blazer! I always wonder how others can find such cute stuff at thrift stores while I rarely do. It must be my impatience sifting through the racks.

Thank you so much! I love your fragrance - Flower by Kenzo has such a pretty bottle and I love it's sweet yet fresh scent. And I really enjoyed hearing how you dress and decorate! I bet your house is very pretty and you dress pretty too :) I think I got the black blazer on ebay. I've got some great deals on otherwise expensive brand items on ebay in the past.

i think this is an interesting observation you've made, and yes, i dress my house the way i dress myself. i am a minimalist, meaning that until recently i rarely wore jewelry, and i am most comfortable in jeans and a single layer on top. i usually end up wearing solids and really accessorizing for me means adding a patterned scarf around my neck!

i don't like how a blouse feels under a sweater, but if i do wear it, i end up tugging and rearranging it all day long so that it looks the way i want it to! ack! i think much of this has to do with the fact that i wear a uniform at work, and my day starts at 3:45 most mornings. after a 6-hr shift, the day is half over, and so i usually don't reshower or change into something nicer (because then i'd have to reshower) unless i'm going somewhere.

my house is not decorated very much at all. i have a few pictures on the wall, and they were purchased over a decade ago, perhaps even 15 years ago, when we lived in a much smaller house. i still love them, but they are spread out throughout the house now and don't make too much of a statement. i have 16' ceilings, and the largest wall in the great room is EMPTY. i like color, but after 15 years of living with a patterned couch and 2 wingback chairs, all our little sitting room in our 1600 sq ft house could hold, i went with a solid colored sectional in the great room. it has brightly colored solid pillows on it, but that's about it. i really could use some decorating tips, so i'll keep reading if you'll keep posting!

btw, you look gorgeous with your clean hair flowing down your back against that way cool white blouse!

Thank you Jenn! Decorating is a process and we've kept some of the rooms in the house still empty after living here for more than six years. And decorating is even harder when you are a minimalist! I am not a minimalist, but I enjoy clutter free, simple living. I don't like purchasing things yet I want to decorate our house. It's been a struggle. Hopefully we can find our ways to cozy up our houses without making them look cluttered :)

You look great! Your hair is gorgeous. I dress usually in all black and I decorate in all white (pretty much). So in a way, yes, I do decorate like I dress. Extreme. Haha. I'm a major fragrance fiend. Including three bvlgari: green tea essence, Notte, and aqua marine. My default scent is Lacoste pour homme and my lavish special occasion scent is Tom Ford black violet. I LOVE your fragrance. It's harder to find nowadays. I got it for one of my friends when she was getting married. I think it's a perfect bridal fragrance.

You wear all black so that you stand out in the all white decor ;) I love black-white contrast for its drama and simplicity too. I love any of those bvlugari scents, oh wait, I'm not familiar with the aqua marine. I bet it smells really good. For me, Givenchy's ultramarine brings back some good memories from my college years. No wonder I feel like a lady when I wear my perfume - I'm wearing a bridal fragrance! Haha.

I totally dress like I decorate. I like laid back traditional decor and that's the same way I dress. I've been noticing though, that while this style works for my house, when it comes to my wardrobe it makes me look a bit boring. So, I'm working on breaking out of my mold.

Yuko you remind me of my younger self! How very lovely you look in your new clothes. I've been enjoying your new blog very much. You have a beautiful family and a beautiful home, thanks for sharing them with us. I'm new to blogging myself and found my way to you thru Janet's blog.